Murch renovation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The timeline is that they start the remodeling the day after school ends next year, so June 2016 and it will take 18 - 24 months from that point. Any changes to the proposed design that would require approval from the Historical Preservation Review Board would add another 9 - 12 months to secure and would bring the schedule to a halt (likely losing all the funding in the process.)

The GSA guy was so good at the last meeting and he was certainly off at this one.

This meeting was an opportunity for people to comment on the plans that they sent around. Comments focused on playground space and why they didn't dig down or up. The architects are supposed to take all these comments and go back to the plans and try and incorporate them to be presented at the next meeting.

What they will hopefully also bring back are responses with costs attached so people can make informed decisions..."oh, so it will cost $15 million dollars to add a third floor, in that case lets have/not have a third floor"

The part that amazed me were the people from the neighborhood who want to delay the remodel for years because they don't feel that the neighbors have been informed or made aware of the renovations. They were SHOCKED to find out that a renovation was being planned.

And this will impact them how??? The neighbors that is. Insanity!!! I really hope they keep the plan to start renovating in June. This has gone on long enough.

You're joking right?

I am fairly certain that the school was there before the neighbors. If you buy near an elementary school there is going to be noise and there are going to be lots of people. If your neighborhood has a popular school, it may be enlarged AND the neighbors are going to benefit from the high property values and chances are it will be renovated every 50 years or so.

I am not in the Murch neighborhood fwiw, but we always have complaining neighbors at our elementary school and I always wonder what they thought living next to or across the street from an elementary school would be like.

[Anonymous]

I don't think neighbors were complaining about noise or construction. From what I gathered they are worried about a possible three story structure which would be taller than the current structure and their homes, the lack of a traffic study which should have been done because current traffic is a big problem and lack of meetings with the envelope houses. Every renovation has envelope meetings for the neighbors directly affected and none have happened yet.

[Anonymous]

Pap here, I should add that from what I can tell the neighbors have kids at Murch and Deal. Most of them are very active in the Murch community and want a renovation. I don't think that the condos on one entire side of Murch had any representation at the meeting.

[Anonymous]

The most vocal neighbor at the meeting had a kid at Murch a few decades ago and suggested that there was no need for urgency around the planning process and a new Ward 3 elementary school should be built instead of renovating Murch. Hoping this is the fringe and not the mainstream neighbor thinking!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Neighbors in every school renovation, probably every construction project, always make a big stink. All depends on how organized they are whether they can slow things down or push for major changes.

Agreed. Hearst went through the same thing and we had to change some of the plans. They complained about a lot of things but in the end basically had to do away with a critical service entrance to appease around 10 people. Super annoying.

[Anonymous]

The buildings on 36th St are rentals, not condos. Neightbors might be annoyed, but they don't own. I have thought for years that Davenport St should be one way in the mornings - not to mention that many commuters come up out of the park, heading to AU and points west.

DH was involved with some of the planning for the Deal addition. You have to hold DGS' feet to the fire or they will let many things slip. The LSAT can/should be pushing on this in the next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The most vocal neighbor at the meeting had a kid at Murch a few decades ago and suggested that there was no need for urgency around the planning process and a new Ward 3 elementary school should be built instead of renovating Murch. Hoping this is the fringe and not the mainstream neighbor thinking!!!

The other particularly vocal neighbor said we should fight with the historical preservation board to ensure we get the right answer. But I'm not sure she realizes that a victory over the HPO would likely mean something less friendly to the immediate neighborhood--a taller structure or hazardous demo of an 85-year-old building.

[Anonymous]

So a few house owners get to complain and dictate what 1000s of kids going through Murch will have? Wow

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The timeline is that they start the remodeling the day after school ends next year, so June 2016 and it will take 18 - 24 months from that point. Any changes to the proposed design that would require approval from the Historical Preservation Review Board would add another 9 - 12 months to secure and would bring the schedule to a halt (likely losing all the funding in the process.)

The GSA guy was so good at the last meeting and he was certainly off at this one.

This meeting was an opportunity for people to comment on the plans that they sent around. Comments focused on playground space and why they didn't dig down or up. The architects are supposed to take all these comments and go back to the plans and try and incorporate them to be presented at the next meeting.

What they will hopefully also bring back are responses with costs attached so people can make informed decisions..."oh, so it will cost $15 million dollars to add a third floor, in that case lets have/not have a third floor"

The part that amazed me were the people from the neighborhood who want to delay the remodel for years because they don't feel that the neighbors have been informed or made aware of the renovations. They were SHOCKED to find out that a renovation was being planned.

And this will impact them how??? The neighbors that is. Insanity!!! I really hope they keep the plan to start renovating in June. This has gone on long enough.

You're joking right?

I am fairly certain that the school was there before the neighbors. If you buy near an elementary school there is going to be noise and there are going to be lots of people. If your neighborhood has a popular school, it may be enlarged AND the neighbors are going to benefit from the high property values and chances are it will be renovated every 50 years or so.

I am not in the Murch neighborhood fwiw, but we always have complaining neighbors at our elementary school and I always wonder what they thought living next to or across the street from an elementary school would be like.

Yes the school has been there (and unchanged since it was built!) but that doesn't mean the neighbors shouldn't voice their concerns. Murch is a center of the surrounding community and the grounds are in heavy use everyday. The neighbors aren't complaining about noise or lots of people. Crossing Davenport at 36th is scary in the morning because of the traffic. Many commuters zipping through all irritated by the drop offs and pedestrian. I have chased down many of them as the have almost clipped kids even with a parent belong the kids cross.

The plan is just a bad one. The addition is just poorly planned. I reviewed the Lafayette plans and there is cohesion between the old and the new. The current Murch design looks like a Different building they are just plopping down into the space. It just wasn't given much time or thought by the architects.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So a few house owners get to complain and dictate what 1000s of kids going through Murch will have? Wow

There were plenty of people from houses not directly around Murch complaining too.

People should look at the plan. Notice anything missing? I find it amazing that thing was even submitted - and I am not talking about putting the soccer field on the NPS land when NPS hasn't agreed to let them touch that land.

[Anonymous]

Any discussion of possible swing space locations?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any discussion of possible swing space locations?

This is the million dollar question. DGS seems to be focused on swinging onsite, which everyone thinks is crazy given the size of the space and the type of construction necessary. They also alluded to "a space in Forest Hills" that they're looking into, with no additional detail. That was by far the murkiest and most worrisome aspect of the presentation to me.

[Anonymous]

As swing space was not the focus of the meeting, it was raised but not discussed in detail. No one was able to say what locations might be under consideration.

[Anonymous]

I agree that the swing space is a huge issue. It seems that they would like to keep rebounds in trailers on the Murch lot while construction is happening. The lot is so small there isn't room for that!

[Anonymous]

Rebounds= kids. Ha!